


i know what you want

by damapintada



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Firelady Katara, Firelord Zuko (Avatar), Fluff, Zutara Fluff Exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:19:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26592043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/damapintada/pseuds/damapintada
Summary: Zuko and Katara each have their own way of taking care of each other.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 124
Collections: Zutara Fluff Exchange





	i know what you want

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RideBoldlyRide](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RideBoldlyRide/gifts).



> for the zutara fluff exchange! hope you enjoy <3

Zuko was just finishing up a letter at his desk when he heard the bedchamber door open. In walked Katara, fresh from a bath, in one of the simple nightgowns she wore to sleep, her long hair unbound and loose around her shoulders. With the moonlight streaming in through drawn curtains, the pale blue of her dress looked almost white. Zuko looked up at her and smiled. 

“Ready for bed?” he asked, taking in her tired expression. She nodded, while making towards their bed, stopping just short of it. “Are you—” she started, but was interrupted by a loud yawn coming out of her mouth, her face scrunching up. She paused and wiped away a few tears that escaped involuntarily before shaking her head, as if trying to clear out the sleepiness. “Sorry, that was weird,” she muttered.

He put down his brush, and tilted his head in curiosity. _How could someone look that adorable while yawning?_ He wondered idly.

Katara took that as her cue to continue. “Anyways,” she said, lacing her fingers together before lifting them over her head, starting to lean back in a stretch, “What I meant to say—” she was interrupted once again, this time by a very audible _crrrrack_ coming from the joints in her back. She stopped abruptly, arms still in the air, and stared at Zuko with her eyes wide as saucers. 

He stifled a laugh and got up from his desk, motioning her to lay face down on the mattress, while she continued to stand there like a startled antelope. 

“Come on,” he chided gently, snuffing out the sconces on the wall with a swoop of his hands. “I meant to work on your back tonight anyway, and now you can’t say no.”

It was a testament to how exhausted Katara was that night that she simply raised an eyebrow at him and complied, laying down on her stomach, with her head turned sideways, hair fanning out over the white bedspread. 

Zuko paused for a second to admire the view, a soft smile on his face, before getting onto the bed himself, straddling her waist, his knees sinking into the mattress. Unable to help himself, he ran one of his hands through the thick waves of her hair before gathering it up and moving it to the side, so that none of it impeded access to her back. He took in her face, now peaceful with her eyes closed, admiring her side profile, her prominent cheekbones, and her plush lips, following the line of her neck down to the gentle slope of her shoulders. His heart clenched, momentarily struck by her beauty, despite the prominent dark shadows under her eyes. Even after eight years together, four of them married, he never tired of looking at her. 

“You know, when you said you were going to work on my back, I didn’t think you meant burn a hole in it with your staring,” Katara said suddenly, cracking an eye open to peer up at him. 

Zuko snorted, but refocused on his task. He lifted his hands to the juncture of where her spine met her shoulders and let out a breath, warming his hands with his bending, before digging in with his thumbs. He was surprised by the amount of resistance he met there, finding her back to be a tangled mess of knots. 

“That feels so good,” Katara grumbled, letting out a groan. 

He raised an eyebrow at her, even though she couldn’t see it. “Why is your back so stiff?” He asked, though he already had an idea as to why. “You were only in the Earth Kingdom for a week and a half.” 

She had just gotten back sometime that morning from a humanitarian mission, helping out with a recent outbreak of illness around Selin, and if he knew his wife, she spent most of that time in a medic tent and very little sleeping in an actual bed. She didn’t answer him, most likely predicting that it would only lead to more scolding. 

Zuko’s only acknowledgement was a happy sigh from Katara as his hands moved along her shoulder blades. 

“If I had known you were this tired, I wouldn’t have let you sit through all those council meetings. Why did you show up, anyway?” 

At this, Katara scowled and half-opened an eye. “And let you sit through another one of Lord Bao’s annoying rants? I couldn’t let you go through that by yourself. As soon as Nami told me he’d be there, I made a few changes to my schedule. Besides, I enjoy putting him in his place. He’s scared of me,” she finished with a smirk.

Zuko hummed in agreement, his hands now kneading along her spine. Lord Bao was an especially irritating council member, often prone to needling rambles about Fire Nation superiority, if no one was there to keep him in check. He’d blanched as soon as he saw the Fire Lady burst through the council chamber doors that afternoon for an unexpected visit. 

“I shouldn’t encourage you, but thanks for that. I really appreciated having you there today,” he said. Katara didn’t open her eyes this time, but gave him a satisfied smile. “Of course,” she replied. “You know I’ve always got your back.”

“That you do,” he murmured, leaning over to place a quick kiss on her neck. She shivered at the contact. 

The rest of the massage continued in silence, with Zuko relishing the rare moment that he got to take care of his wife. Nearly done, he had thought she’d fallen asleep when she spoke in a whisper. “Can we sleep in tomorrow?” 

“I already cleared our schedule for tomorrow until the afternoon,” he replied. She let out another happy sigh and smiled sleepily. “Love you,” she mumbled. Zuko brushed a thumb along her cheek and leaned over to press another kiss to the corner of her mouth. “Love you too,” he whispered.


End file.
